Apparatus for exercising eye-muscles.



. Patented Dec. 1, 1914 A. MAILBR. APPARATUS FOR EXERGISING EYE MUSGLES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 27, 1913.

t @Ma/dam UNITED STATES PATENT onnion.

AUGUST MAILER, F LEIPZIG-SGHLEUSSIG, GERMANY.

APPARATUS FOR EXERCISING- EYE-MUSCLES.

Application filed December 27, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUcUs'r MAILER, residing in Leipzig-Schleussig, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Exercising Eye- Muscles, of which the following is a specification.

The constant occupation of the eyes with work in connection with which the eyes are directed downwardly and move only within narrow limits on the objects located in the immediate vicinity gives rise to the fact that a portion of the eye muscles is greatly strained, whereas another portion is hardly used. This unequal use of the eye muscles is accompanied by the danger of bringing about, as time goes on, an incorrect development of the muscles which may be detrimental to the eye and to its function. In order to obviate such slackening of the eye muscles it has already been proposed to strengthen the muscles which serve to move the eyeball by suitable exercise and thereby to render them supple. According to that proposition this was to be attained by an apparatus which was provided with bodies representing different sights arranged at the ends of rods, which were connected so as to move about vertical axes of rotation to a carrying frame to be fixed on the head of the exercising person. These known apparatus must be said to lack perfection owing to the fact that on the one hand due to the pressure of the carrying frame, the blood circulation in the head was not only affected but a detrimental effect was also exercised on the nerves in the head and on the other hand because the bodies (balls) arranged for concentrating the sight of the eyes were stationary during the actual exercise, whereby the eye muscles of the exercising person were treated only one-sidedly by remaining rigid and immovable for some considerable time. These drawbacks are to be obviated according to this invention by the use of a body for concentrating the sight of the eyes which is arranged on a lever rotatably journaled in a stationary support and adapted-to be moved laterally llke a pendulum of a clock by means of a cord runnin g over a roller mounted on the axis of rotation of the said lever as will be more clearly understood from a description of the accompanying drawings, in which Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1, 1914.

Serial No. 809,046.

Figure 1 illustrates a constructional form of an apparatus of this kind, and Fig. 2 is a lateral view thereof.

The apparatus consists of a stand a having a forked shaped head portion journaled in which is a shaft Z) carrying a roller 0. Placed over the roller is a cord at which is guided over small rollers e e one located at each side on the foot of the stand a. Thus by pulling the cord (1 in one or the other direction the roller 0 is rotated.

Arranged on the protruding end of the shaft 6 is a rod f carrying at its end a displaceable blackened disk g. This disk is provided in its center with a white mark, for instance, a plainly drawn cross, while the other end of the rod carries a movable weight h which may be adjusted for establishing the desired equilibrium.

In order to use the apparatus, the stand is so placed that the fulcrum of the rod f exercising person, when standing in front of the apparatus and the disk 9 is adjusted,

to about three-quarters of the length of the rod from the fulcrum. The user then grasps with each hand one end of the cord d and placeshimself in front of the appara tus so that the distance of the eyes from the same is about equal to thedistance of the center of the disk from the fulcrum of the rod. Having thus assumed the correct position the user by pulling on the cord (Z then causes the roller 0 and the rod fmounted thereon to be rotated so that the rod 1 is intermittently advanced in clockwise or the inverse direction with a short interval occurring after each movement in order to enable the eyes sighting the disk 9 exactly to follow the sign or picture on the disk. After a complete revolution of the rod f the latter is rotated in the opposite direction.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An apparatus for exercising the muscles of the eyes comprising a stationary stand, a rod ro-tatably journaled thereon, a sign carrier adjustably arranged on said rod, a main roller mounted on the pivot of said rod, rollers in the base of said stand and a cord running over the main rollers and under the other rollers to move saidvrod laterally.

2. An apparatus for exercising the muscles of the eyes comprising in combination a stand, a rod rotatably journaled thereon, a roller mounted on the pivot of the said rod, a sign disk adjustably secured to the rod at one side of its fulcrum, a counterweight adjustable onthe rod at the other side of its fulcrum and a cord running over said roller for the rotation thereof and the rod, all substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST MAILER. Witnesses:

Momrz LYOVIER, RUDOLPH FRIGKE. 

